Not your mother's Girl Scouts of America

Sharon Slater, a mother of seven, innocently walked into a panel sponsored by the Girl Scouts USA at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women a few weeks ago. Almost immediately she was asked to leave. All non-Scout adults were kicked out of the room, which was packed with adolescent girls.Her curiosity piqued, Slater lingered by the door and when the panel ended she went immediately back inside to look around. What she found has shocked her and shocked Girl Scout moms around the country. Slater found a stack of brochures produced by Planned Parenthood called "Healthy, Happy and Hot" that among other things explained to the girls, "Some people have sex when they have been drinking or using drugs. That is your choice."But it gets worse. The sex guide explains, "Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse. But there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. Sex can include kissing, touching, licking, tickling, sucking and cuddling. Some people like to have aggressive sex, while others like to have soft sex and slow sex with their partners. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!" It tells girls to explore the prostate. Remember, this was distributed in a panel for adolescent girls.

The Girl Scouts first accused Slater of lying. Then they said that the brochure was part of another panel from earlier in the day (not likely that the NAACP panel on climate change would have need of such a brochure). Then they said the brochures were there but they never used them.

I might have a different idea than you about the age appropriateness of some information. But that's the point isn't it? You, as a parent, are disrespected when even an organization as supposedly wholesome as the Girl Scouts ignores your responsibilities and desires as a parent and substitutes their own judgment about age appropriate sex education.

As you might expect, many parents are livid about this with one Girl Scout group in St. Louis seeking to separate itself from the national organization.

Sharon Slater, a mother of seven, innocently walked into a panel sponsored by the Girl Scouts USA at the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women a few weeks ago. Almost immediately she was asked to leave. All non-Scout adults were kicked out of the room, which was packed with adolescent girls.

Her curiosity piqued, Slater lingered by the door and when the panel ended she went immediately back inside to look around. What she found has shocked her and shocked Girl Scout moms around the country. Slater found a stack of brochures produced by Planned Parenthood called "Healthy, Happy and Hot" that among other things explained to the girls, "Some people have sex when they have been drinking or using drugs. That is your choice."

But it gets worse. The sex guide explains, "Many people think sex is just about vaginal or anal intercourse. But there are lots of different ways to have sex and lots of different types of sex. Sex can include kissing, touching, licking, tickling, sucking and cuddling. Some people like to have aggressive sex, while others like to have soft sex and slow sex with their partners. There is no right or wrong way to have sex. Just have fun, explore and be yourself!" It tells girls to explore the prostate. Remember, this was distributed in a panel for adolescent girls.

The Girl Scouts first accused Slater of lying. Then they said that the brochure was part of another panel from earlier in the day (not likely that the NAACP panel on climate change would have need of such a brochure). Then they said the brochures were there but they never used them.

I might have a different idea than you about the age appropriateness of some information. But that's the point isn't it? You, as a parent, are disrespected when even an organization as supposedly wholesome as the Girl Scouts ignores your responsibilities and desires as a parent and substitutes their own judgment about age appropriate sex education.

As you might expect, many parents are livid about this with one Girl Scout group in St. Louis seeking to separate itself from the national organization.